


Two Years

by gingayellow



Category: Power Rangers RPM, Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters
Genre: AU, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-03
Updated: 2014-04-03
Packaged: 2018-01-18 00:11:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1407760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gingayellow/pseuds/gingayellow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is my attempt at writing a Go-Busters/RPM fusion that doesn't just make Go-Busters a sequel to RPM or whatever? MAYBE a work in progress? Gen for now, anything important to note will be when/if I go further with it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Two Years

"It's only a two year program, Youko-chan," Ryuuji assured his younger sister. He was almost glad that Hiromu had a cold, and had to stay with their father-- good-bye was going to be hard, but brief. "I'll be home before you know it."

Youko scrunched her face up. "I'm gonna miss you."

Ryuuji gave her another hug. "There's always phone calls and emails."

"But Hiromu-nii-san's always hogging the computer--"

"Maybe you two can write me emails together." And he wasn't surprised at all, even now with one sick and a city away, he was still diffusing arguments between him. "Okay?"

Thankfully, Youko smiled. "Okay."

Then his flight was departing, and Ryuuji said his last, frantic farewells to his mother and sister before leaving. 

He tried to get one last look at them both, but there were too many people.

\--

The first semester went wonderfully. He didn't make any friends, much to his mother's lament, but that wasn't why Ryuuji was there. He wanted to build Megazords, and he was learning the skills for that. And besides, he emailed everyone daily, and called home weekly. 

The second semester was the same, but he was dealing more with the teachers. At first he was happy-- he was getting the working relationship with the faculty that the school had advertised. But sometime in April, he realized that in meetings and conferences, the teachers were just nodding their heads while he spoke. Worried, Ryuuji asked a teacher after class one day if he was doing something wrong.

"No, Ryuuji." She looked very old, shaking her head. "The thing is, you're so smart, we're learning from listening to you." Then she looked even older, somehow. "Maybe... maybe you should look into other schools."

"But I like it here. The equipment is amazing, and I really am learning from you, all of you--"

"You don't understand--" The she looked around. "Just consider it."

The next day, she was gone.

The administration said that she'd retired.

\--

The third semester started in June, so there was no time for a break, and Ryuuji was feeling it. As much as he liked school, the equations were starting to blur. And yet... the blue prints were almost done. Almost. Just a few more months.

Then maybe he could start emailing home again. He kept meaning to, but he was just so busy lately, he couldn't help it.

They'd also assigned him a "mentor." His mentor was a tall man in a dark suit who watched Ryuuji work. Sometimes he'd offer platitudes, but that was about it.

Well, that was fine. He was smarter than even the teachers here, apparently. So what if the school was turning out to be the exact opposite of what he'd expected, or wanted. He was still getting to work with tools he had only read about before. All he wanted to do was his robot and go home.

\--

The semester was almost over, and Ryuuji was waiting for the bus home, when he mentor appeared. Out of nowhere. "Good evening, Doctor I."

Ryuuji smiled, with some effort. He'd never liked his mentor too much, and now he was just unsettling. "Thank you, but I'm hardly at that level of learning."

"You're right. You're beyond that-- which is why we want you."

Everything after that was a blank.

\--

"Doctor I?"

_My name is Ryuuji,_ he added silently, because he wasn't in the mood for fighting it. Not right now. "Yes?"

"We found a lab partner for you." The guard gave Ryuuji a pandering smile-- and then someone with long hair bounded into the room. He was wearing a schoolboy's uniform. Ah, then he'd been here since he was born, like some of the others.

"Hi, I'm Doctor J!" He made his pointer finger and thumb into the letter J. "Wanna build a robot?"

"No." Ryuuji was still suprised by how earnestly he spoke. "Not really."


End file.
